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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. tube — a container
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. ground — the earth
  6. degree — temperature
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. content — the amount
  9. tube — the underground
  10. season — of the year
  11. degree — an amount
  12. season — in sport
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bore — to drill
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bore — to tire
  17. ground — a position
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. wake — a trail
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. ground — crushed
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com